At first, the near 1,900-year-old skeleton at the site of a future housing development in Cambridgeshire did not seem particularly remarkable.
The man was buried with his arms across his chest in a grave with a wooden structure at one of five cemeteries around a newly discovered Roman settlement at Fenstanton, between Roman Cambridge and Godmanchester.
A nail was found through the heel bone of his crucifixion, which experts say is the best evidence of a crucifixion in the Roman world.
The method of crucifixion, in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden beam and left to hang until death, is a rare find, most likely because the victims would not have received proper burial and, contrary to popular views, it was commonly carried out.
The first details of the extraordinary find are reported in British Archaeology magazine on Wednesday, after a long analysis of crucifixion as the only likely explanation.
The man would have been 35 years old at the time of his death. Adam Williams is pictured.
The skeleton was uncovered and recorded in situ on a dull day in November of last year, as it was caked in mud and the nail was not noticed.
The nail was not revealed until the bones were removed from the lab.
David Ingham, project manager at Albion Archaeology, said that it was the first time a skeleton had been excavated that anyone had found a nail in it.
We know a lot about crucifixion from historical accounts. It is the first proof that it worked.
The off-site analysis was conducted by a renowned archaeologist, who came to the conclusion that crucifixion was the reason the nail was used.
It is very unusual for the body of a crucifixion victim to be brought back to a settlement and buried alongside others.
The identity of the man who was crucified will never be known, but Romans are thought to have reserved crucifixion for condemned slaves, rebels and lower classes.
The calcaneum of the Fenstanton man's right foot was found with an iron nail in it. The location of crucifixion is not known, but it is likely to have been by the side of the road.
The find is the only instance of crucifixion in northern Europe and the fourth worldwide, two of which had no nails associated with them.
A nail in the same position as the new find was accidentally found in Israel in 1968 and was less well preserved and subject to some controversy.
Planning consent for a housing development was required for the dig in which the skeleton was found. Adam Williams is pictured.
The Fenstanton man's bones were dated to between AD130 and AD360, making them between 1,671 and 1,891 years old. He was not related to any of the other bodies found on the site, but he was from the native population.
The man's shins looked like they had been worn for long periods of time, and that he could have been a slave. He could have been imprisoned for other reasons.
The remains of 48 people were found at the site during the archaeological excavations, which were undertaken as a requirement for planning consent for a now-completed housing development.
The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge is where Ingham hopes a 3D replica of the heel bone will be displayed.
Unusual evidence for industrial processing of cattle bones was found in the settlement.
Between May and November, the dig was done. The findings were supposed to be revealed in 2020 but were delayed by the Covid-19 Pandemic.
